Chapter 64.1: Mingtang and Qinghe (Part 7)

“Second Miss, this is the maid bought by Madam. I need to inform her.”
“What, can’t I command you anymore?” Xu Qianyu crossed her arms. “I’ve lost all my maids in my room, and there’s no one to answer me even when I want a glass of water in the middle of the night. Who will help me dress up tomorrow? Who will accompany me to my wedding?”

She wasn’t wrong. Zhao Mingtang’s two personal maids had disappeared the day she arrived at Hua Jing. Since it was more convenient to move these past few days, she hadn’t reported this to Mrs. Zhao. Tomorrow, she indeed needed two people to help disguise her identity.

With the chaos at home these past few days, the steward was exasperated and said, “Second Miss, should I go to the servant quarters and find you a few more? These two won’t do; they are…”
“No need.” Zhao Mingtang had already pulled the ropes from the wrists of the two maids, dragging them away. “Crying and whining, just right to give me a weeping wedding tomorrow.”

Zhao Mingtang was domineering and obstinate; the steward couldn’t stop her and could only watch as she took the people away.
Xu Qianyu was speaking inside, while Shen Suwei stood guard outside the thicket. Upon seeing someone approach, he picked a leaf to use as a bowl, extended his fingers to ignite a fire, sat on the ground, and blocked the person’s way.

The visitor was Mrs. Zhao, holding a lantern.
The demon energy made the windows creak, and she couldn’t sleep well. Throwing on her robe, she got up and walked gloomily to the courtyard. Seeing the flickering light in the darkness, illuminating a pale face, she approached and recognized Zhao Qinghe. Unable to help but scold, “What are you doing?”

“Mother.” Zhao Qinghe raised his eyes; the firelight danced on a serene face, reflecting cold tears beneath his eye. He silently added another piece of paper to the bowl. “Junzhu asked me in a dream. He hasn’t eaten and is very hungry. I’m burning paper money for Junzhu.”
Mrs. Zhao stared at the fire bowl for a while, lost in thought. The flames leaped, shining brightly on a tear stain on Mrs. Zhao’s face. Suddenly, resentment filled her eyes as she glared at Zhao Qinghe. “It’s all your fault.”

She muttered under her breath, “You had to raise a dog; you had to go against your brother! Raising you is like molding clay, unable to stand seeing your father and me together, heartless, emotionless.”

After a while, she wiped her tears, feeling she had lost her composure, and returned to her usual gentle demeanor. “What are you burning paper money for? Hurry back to sleep. Mingtang is getting married soon; don’t add to the bad luck.”
Saying this, she stepped into the fire bowl with her embroidered shoes, forcefully extinguishing the remaining flames.

Feeling Xu Qianyu leave, Zhao Qinghe bowed silently and retreated into the night.
Mrs. Zhao stepped into the small room with her lantern, taking small steps. The steward was pacing and, upon seeing Mrs. Zhao, wanted to report that Zhao Mingtang had taken the maids away. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Zhao grabbed his arm, pressing him, “In recent days, hasn’t Junzhu been fed? Is he getting enough to eat?”

Both Mingtang and Qinghe had inexplicably dreamed of their brother, shaking her fragile emotions, making her unable to help but want to check on him.
The steward replied, “Madam, in the past few days, the restrictions have loosened, and the young master has been irritable. The servants have been heavily depleted; it has been a few days…”

“Hurry and feed him; hurry and feed him!” Mrs. Zhao couldn’t listen to explanations. “He’s hungry. Do you want him to die?”
But who would come? The steward’s gaze turned cold as he looked toward Ruan Zhuqing on the chair, pointing at him and saying, “The only one left for you to add is this one.”

“Then let her go.” Only then did Mrs. Zhao notice another person beside her. “Tell her to go feed the young master.”
Ruan Zhuqing had just been bound and then untied again. He looked at the two and innocently blinked, “Am I going to be the young master’s wife?”

This statement seemed to please Mrs. Zhao. She bent down and looked at him with a loving and joyful gaze, taking off a bracelet from her wrist and putting it on him: “Good boy, you’re really a good boy. Here, your mother acknowledges you as this wife.”

Ruan Zhuqing swallowed hard. To be honest, although he was a cultivator, he felt a bit creeped out at the moment.

After Mrs. Zhao left, Ruan Zhuqing was hastily dressed up and, holding a tray, followed the butler north, passing through the quiet bamboo forest, over a small bridge, and reaching the other side of the pond.

Pushing aside the hedge revealed a wooden house. The wooden house, weathered by wind and rain, appeared a pale white, with the windows nailed shut with wooden planks and a rusted iron lock hanging on the door.

The ground in front of the house was covered with broken branches and dead leaves, leaving no place to step.
“Master, aren’t you going to accompany this young lady?” Ruan Zhuqing saw the butler take a key from his waist and place it on his tray, quickly asking.
“Who is your master?” The butler scolded, stopping in his tracks. “You open the door and go in. I’ll wait for you here.”

“Yes.” Ruan Zhuqing took a couple of steps, then suddenly turned around; the butler indeed bent down and hid within the hedge.
He couldn’t escape, as Ruan Zhuqing flexibly kicked over his head and struck his nape, knocking him out.

Ruan Zhuqing sighed with relief, turned, flicked his hair, and walked to the wooden house, using the key to unlock it.
As he opened the door with just a crack, a wave of heat rushed out, accompanied by a putrid stench. Something inside moved at the sound, suddenly lunging toward him, nearly biting his collar. Ruan Zhuqing slammed the door shut with a crash: “Oh my!”
Stepping back, he bumped into a cold body, and Ruan Zhuqing shouted, “Sister Immortal, you scared me to death!”

Shen Suwei looked at him and asked, “Can you tell if it’s a person or a demon?”
“It’s… it’s a dog!”
Shen Suwei, looking puzzled, pushed Ruan Zhuqing aside and went to check for himself.

When the door slammed against the beast’s nose, it began to thump against the door with a deafening sound, sounding much like a dog’s bark.
This must be the “Northern Evil Dog” that the earthbound spirits fear.

Shen Suwei pulled the door hard, but it seemed to be held by a strong suction force. He looked up, and two lines of tiny characters appeared on the top of the wooden house, flickering like gold, then vanished. Immediately, his hand felt a slight sting; as the backlash approached his meridians, he let go.

It was a “forbidden view” curse.
The one who sets this curse must be a cultivator, at least half a step into the divine transformation realm. The curse master commands those beneath his realm; the higher one’s cultivation, the stronger the restriction. Hence, Ruan Zhuqing could only open the door a crack, while the butler couldn’t even budge it.

Shen Suwei’s expression wasn’t good. Stepping aside, he lifted the lid of the porcelain bowl in Ruan Zhuqing’s tray. The smell of mutton wafted up, revealing a bloody leg of lamb.
“You go feed it.”
“Am I just supposed to throw the meat inside?” Ruan Zhuqing asked while pinching his nose.

“Yes.”

Ruan Zhuqing stepped back, quickly opened the door, and, with a jerk, tossed the meat into the gap. The beast immediately turned and lunged at the leg of lamb.

Shen Suwei peered through the narrow crack of the door and saw the ground covered with thick spider webs and bones, both human and beast. There was also a half-bare foot stepping on the ground.

That foot looked human but was covered in white fur, resembling a person yet not quite. Under the fur, the skin had uneven colors, looking quite frightening.

Just seeing this was enough to trigger the backlash. He closed his eyes.
The sounds of rattling chains, gnawing, swallowing saliva, and growling all echoed simultaneously, completing the horrific image in his mind. The demonic energy inside swirled, but it didn’t come from that “dog”; rather, it stemmed from the resentment of the souls of the people it had consumed.

The leg of lamb was quickly devoured, but that thing was still not satisfied and immediately turned to pounce on Ruan Zhuqing.
Ruan Zhuqing saw its sharp teeth gleaming and instinctively slapped a talisman onto its face, but he felt as if he had suffered a heavy blow, staggering back a few steps, only to be caught by Shen Suwei by the collar. Shen Suwei forcibly closed the door: “There’s a forbidden view curse above; attacking it will backfire on yourself.”

“Who the hell is the malicious cultivator who created this thing!” Ruan Zhuqing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. “They made this abomination and can’t even kill it.”
No wonder the Zhao family’s demonic energy lingered; no wonder the butler had to buy new maids every few days. If he didn’t have enough cattle, sheep, and pork to eat, that thing would probably resort to biting and eating people.

“With such a vicious dog master, who knows how many servants and maids have perished in its belly while feeding the young master?” Ruan Zhuqing grew angrier the more he thought about it, slapping his thigh and cursing.
Shen Suwei remained silent.

There were many cultivators, and human hearts were hard to fathom; not everyone was a righteous person. Cultivators couldn’t harm humans, only exterminate demons. Hence, some had developed wicked ideas: transforming people into demons before killing them, making it easier to harvest spiritual energy for themselves. In recent years, as spiritual energy grew scarce, evil paths had frequently emerged. Such dark chess pieces affecting others were called “evil spirits.”

He had once been a targeted “evil spirit.”
Unfortunately, his will was too strong, not conforming to others’ wishes. He entered the immortal gate and ascended the great path, which was probably beyond the expectations of the schemer.

There were several dozen cultivators at the half-step divine transformation realm among the four great immortal sects, and counting those who had fallen, there were even more. Such sinister affairs were something no one would dare to admit.

He had reported this matter to Xu Binglai in secret, hoping that his master would ascend to the half-step divine transformation realm smoothly after receiving divine lightning, so he could eliminate this thing.

Shen Suwei glanced at the talisman: “However, this forbidden view curse is merely engraved on the wooden house, not on the dog itself. It seems to have loosened over time. As long as this curse is broken, when it comes out, I can also exterminate it.”

“I have to go.” Shen Suwei received another call for help from his disciple and said to Ruan Zhuqing, “You interrogate it and see if you can gather some clues.”
Ruan Zhuqing quickly agreed, flicking his hair back and slinging the unconscious butler over his shoulder.

After a moment, the white-clad saintess gracefully landed in front of the wooden house.
Hearing the roar of the beast inside crashing against the door, Lu You was so frightened she took a step back, tears welling in her eyes as she bumped into the young man’s chest.

“My identity has been exposed. This place is under the jurisdiction of the Penglai Immortal Sect. If the demonic energy is revealed, someone will come after me soon.” The boy, shrouded in dark clouds, had eyes shifting between crimson and inky black and a hint of wickedness on his face. “If you don’t want to be implicated, you can only let it out to divert the attention of those cultivators.”
Originally, Xie Yuzhen had reached out to her, and she was somewhat surprised. But who would have thought that Xie Yuzhen would ask her to release the Zhao family’s ‘evil spirit’? How could she possibly do that?

“Yuzhen, I really can’t.”
“You can.” The boy tilted his head slightly, seeming puzzled. Otherwise, where would that voice controlling his mind come from? Wasn’t it under her control? He was also curious about this.
“Let him out,” Xie Yuzhen said gently. “I will help you get what you want.”

The Soul-Restraining Lock? Lu You’s heart immediately stirred. Under her identity as a saintess, she couldn’t plot for it herself; it would be best if Xie Yuzhen took the initiative to help her get it.
But when he finally spoke, the situation felt a bit strange: